Heartbeat
by Shadow of the Eye
Summary: There is never a time or place for true love. It happens accidentally, in a heartbeat, in a single flashing, throbbing moment. /KevEdd
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Ed, Edd n Eddy nor do I own the characters. Thank you for reading.

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"ED-BOYS! RETURN TO ROLF THIS INSTANT!"

"Oh dear, oh dear!" The whimpering of Double Dee had not gone unnoticed as the three 'Ed-boys' raced through the neighborhood, with Rolf's chickens along with his fury trailing behind them.

"Chillax, wouldja?" Eddy scolded the beanie-wearing boy who looked ready to hyperventilate at any second.

"Chillax?! How can I possibly 'chillax' when we practically _vandalized _Rolf's property along with stealing his poultry?!" Edd screeched, hands clutching his beanie in an attempt to keep himself calm. "And not to mention the fact that he is perfectly capable and ready to kill us for it!"

A laugh from Edd's right alerted him that the biggest of the trio had caught up. "Look at the chicks, Double Dee! Don't they look funny when they run? Bawk, bawk!" Ed found entertainment in watching the chickens cluck for life, mimicking them by folding his arms at his sides just like a chicken.

"Geez, calm it down, Ed! We need to get these chickens back to my place and sell them back to Rolf for a pretty quarter or two a piece." The scammer's eyes quickly transformed into dollar signs, and he could practically taste the jawbreakers.

"Eddy! Have you no shame? No morals?" Edd clicked his tongue, ready to continue his lecture even while they ran away from the son of a shepherd.

"Oh, put a sock in it, Sockhead. What's done is done. Now help me out wi—YOW!"

"EY! What's the big idea?!" a new yet familiar voice shouted, but was cut off with a crash.

The two figures had collided into each other, knocking over a bike which was run over by Ed and the chickens. Eddy laid on the ground next to Kevin as they both scratched their heads, trying to dull the incoming headache. Rolf quickly caught up to the three and chased after Ed, who still had the army of poultry following right behind him. Edd ended up tripping on the ruined bike, falling smack onto the ground.

"Yo dork! You just ruined my bike!" the redhead panicked, jumping up from his spot and pointing an accusing finger at Eddy, who had gotten up too.

"What? Ruined your bike? You ruined my scam!" Eddy defensively put both hand on his hips, narrowing his eyes at his rival.

"Yeah?" Kevin took a step towards Eddy, successfully towering over him. "Well, you don't need my help with that!" He jammed a finger into the scammer's chest.

Eddy swatted the offending hand away. He had a few whiplash words on the tip of his tongue ready for Kevin, but something—or someone—intervened between the two.

"Gentlemen, please! Will you two calm yourselves?" Double D squirmed into the small space between said boys, efficiently separating them before a full blown fight could occur.

"H-huh? Double D?" Kevin looked confused for a moment before shaking his head, stepping back and regaining some of his personal space. "Look, I don't know what you dorks are up to but someone's gonna have to pay for my bike." His fist met his open palm. "Preferably Dorky right here." His glare shifted towards the shorter of the Eds.

"You wanna go, tough guy? I ain't scared of you!" Eddy stood on his tippy toes in order to get seen over Edd, which miserably failed.

"Eddy, please. At least try to act civil, will you? I'm trying to settle a compromise here." Edd turned around, chiding his friend who rolled his eyes. Releasing a sigh, he turned back to the redhead. "Forgive me, Kevin. But _someone_ seems unable to cooperate properly like a mature individual." Insert a glare at Eddy here.

"Tch," Kevin turned away so that Edd could only see his back. "What's there to 'cooperate' about anyway? My bike's trashed." He kicked up imaginary dirt, shoving his hands in his pockets.

The bike was all scratched up and dirtied from Ed and the chickens. The paintjob was peeling off at certain places. There was dirt soiled onto the bars and the seat cushion was torn up. The wheels were bent at awkward positions as was the whole bike. Seeing it in such a crippled state filled Edd with guilt. Especially knowing what the bike meant to the redhead.

"If I may, Kevin, I propose a deal where my companions and I can help you repair your bike. And then you can let us go unscathed…?" Edd offered him a gap-toothed smile, showing him his sincerity.

Eddy let out a loud snort. "Ha! Speak for yourself, Sockhead. I ain't helpin' Shovel-Chin. Forget it! I'm out. Later, losers." And with his hands stuffed in his pockets, he walked off.

"Eddy, wait—" Edd made a move to reach out and grab Eddy back, but a soft grip on his wrist stopped him.

"Forget about it. I don't want him messing up my bike anyway." The redhead rolled his eyes at the thought of leaving his baby in the hands of Eddy. A shudder crawled up his spine at the very sinful thought. "Are you serious about helping me fix it though?" He shot an incredulous look at the slightly taller boy. Usually he wouldn't let anyone touch his bike, let alone help him fix it, but at this point he was desperate. And Edd the nerd was his best bet, along with the fact that he wasn't _as _bad as the other Eds.

"Of course, Kevin! I never withdraw my promises without reason." Edd gave a slight tug at his wrist. "Um, can I have my hand back now?"

With a slight blush, the jock instantly let go, stuttering out an apology. "So umm…when you free?"

"Any time is good with me. How does tomorrow afternoon sound?" Edd took no notice of his embarrassment.

"Great." Kevin smiled, then bent down to pick up the remains of his bike. "See you then. And _don't_ bring the other two dorks."

"Will do. Speaking of which, I think it be best for me to take my leave and search for Ed, in case Rolf decides to take some um…unnecessary measures."

The two went on their separate paths, both with their minds on the meeting tomorrow.


	2. Chapter 2

The curtains were open, yet no light shone through. Underneath the dull red covers laid a sleeping boy little over fifteen years. He tossed and turned, unsettled by his dreams. He was finally released by the hold of his cruel subconscious when his eyes fluttered open and he bolted up into a sitting position. Sweat decorated his forehead, even though he felt as if he was submerged in ice cold water. It took a few minutes to calm his breathing along with his heart rate. With a tilt of his head, he found the glowing digits of 4:38 a.m. mocking him. With a sigh, he fell back on his bed, burying his face with his covers.

"Not even close to the crack of dawn…" he groaned.

He knew that it would be useless to try and go back to sleep now. His memories would forever eat at him, never letting him have even a few minutes of peace. He lifted his head to look out his window, over at his dork of a neighbor. All the lights were still off, yet with a little help from the moon, he could make out a small dark figure sleeping soundly in bed. Unlike him.

"Ugh… What are you doing with yourself, Kev?" he mumbled, falling back onto his bed once more.

During the last few weeks, his mind was relentless, not letting him forget that faithful summer day when he and Edd had bonded over fixing his junk heap of a bike, thanks to one of Eddy's scams. He hadn't expected to click with the nerd over such a short time. There were many times where the two would have a civil conversation, but only without the other two dorks Eddward called his friends. But…something about that one afternoon…it felt…special. Different, somehow.

"Gahhh…" He banged his head against the pillow, though it had little effect. "Dammit, dammit, dammit. Why can't I stop thinking about it?"

After an hour and a half of cursing his thoughts to Hell and back, and just laying in bed, he decided it was time to get ready for school.

**.:| **❦** |:.**

The halls were flooded with teenagers, all trying to maneuver their way to their classes while trying to balance conversations with their friends.

"Fear not, peasants, for Eddy is here!" Said loudmouth shoved his way through students, smirk in place with Ed right by his side. "Hey Sockhead, what'cha up to?" He draped his arm around Double D, who had just arrived at his locker to drop off his books in exchange for more books.

"And a good morning to you too, Eddy," Edd greeted, not too surprised at the lack of personal space. "How are you gentlemen doing this fine day?"

"Ed is happy 'cause Ed got toast with gravy!" the linebacker exclaimed all the while pulling the two into a big bear hug.

"That's great Ed, though I'm sure there many harmful health risks concerning that…" Edd mustered up a smile as he was sandwiched between his two best friends.

"Ah, who cares what you had for breakfast? We need to come up with another scam!" Eddy pushed the arms off of him and smacked his fist onto an open palm. "Any brilliant ideas, gents?"

Even in the middle of high school, Eddy could still be found trying to come up with new scams, with the aid of his two accomplices. As the years flew by, the three were still close friends. However, their worlds expanded and so did their perspectives. They saw more people, letting them inside their circles, even though they still preferred each other. The rest of the cul-de-sac gang slowly drifted away from them, though they were on friendly terms. Just separated. _Except Eddy and Kevin. Those two will always be oil and water, _Edd giggled.

"Ey, watch it, bud!" Eddy screamed at the person who had accidentally bumped into him.

"Ow—you again?!" The stranger adjusted his red cap, glaring at Eddy.

"Oh my," Edd muttered, bringing his hand to cover his mouth. _Or maybe TNT and dynamite would be more of an accurate description…_

"Wut are they doing now, Double D?" Ed manifested next to his side. "Are they going to fight again…? Not here! Not now! Not in front of the marshmallows, Double D!" Ed hid behind said boy, scared of the confrontation that was about to come.

"Not if I can help it, Ed…" With a sigh, Edd began to step forward to the two. "Um, excuse me. But will you two please—"

Eddy and Kevin simultaneously craned their necks at the intruder, snarls in place. "SHUT IT." Then they turned back to each other, noses nearly touching and glares burning holes into each other.

"Agh, how rude." Double D shook his head before physically going in between the two and separating them from each other. "Class is about to start, and I will not have you two disrupt the flow of the academic system, nor cause a disturbance to the rest of the student body with your tasteless alpha-male need to prove yourselves," the boy finished with a click of his tongue.

Kevin reluctantly but eventually backed down, though not without a final glare at Eddy. "Tch, whatevs man. He ain't worth my time."

"Oh yeah?! Well, you ain't worth mine! Time is money and there is no way in Hell I'm wasting it on you!" Eddy scoffed, turning away and crossing his arms against his chest, believing that he had the last word.

With a roll of his eyes, Kevin pointedly ignored the scammer and directed his attention towards the more sensible Edd. "S-so 'sup, Double Dork?" His face sported a friendly smile, something rare to see when he was within vicinity of a certain Eddy.

"Salutations, Kevin." Edd returned the smile. "Apologies for Eddy's immaturity. But one can only hope that he'll grow out of it. How are you today?"

"HEY! I heard that!" Eddy growled, not amused that Shovel-Chin was stealing his best friend. And even talking smack about him. Right in front of him! The nerve of some people.

"I'm—"

"Hey Kev! Over here!"

The football player turned his head to the familiar voice of Nazz, who was waving her hand energetically in hopes of catching his attention.

"—apparently getting called over…" Kevin finished on a flat note. "Ah, sorry 'bout this. See ya, Double Dork." As a final good-bye, he pulled the beanie over Edd's eyes, successfully blinding him for a couple of seconds and breaking into a sprint over to the blonde.

"…What was _that_ all about?" Eddy growled with his arms crossed, not pleased at all, something not unusual after encounters with the jock.

"Kevin was just being Kevin!" Ed chimed in, watching as the redhead was talking to Nazz near the corner.

"Bah, whatever. Who needs him? C'mon boys. We still need to figure out that scam. And fast. I need cash for this wicked new video game." Eddy was already rubbing his hands together as gears turned in his head.

The three went on their separate ways, all in their own little worlds. Edd smiled softly as he recalled the hand on his beanie, and slightly tugged at it for the rest of the day.

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_Thank you to Yunnora Lovespell, Birthstone96, xxIvorySkinnedxx, and Guest for reviewing. Thank you to Mr Sunore, rinokumura99, and CookieChillpieXD for favoriting. Thank you to CallsFromNotProvided, rinokumura99, and CookieChillpieXD for following. _


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